1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for quantitatively providing material which may be used as a filling for a food product including, for instance, a sponge cake such as a Madeleine cake, and particularly relates to an apparatus for providing a uniform amount of low-fluidity food material on a highly fluid or soft material such as a material for a sponge cake.
2. Prior Art
A process for producing a sponge cake such as a Madeleine cake generally comprises the steps of applying a mixture of material of high fluidity that contains sugar, flour, egg or the like, into a cup made of paper or aluminum foil, or a recess provided on a baking pan, and baking it. Nowadays, various new types of confectionery and other products have been developed using similar processes, to produce tasty and rich confectionery or snacks. Such a sponge cake is produced to include a filling material. Such a material comprises a less fluid material and a material containing solids or lumps of materials such as chestnuts, nuts, dried fruits mixed in bean jam, or chopped ham, eggs, and vegetables mixed in tomato sauce.
To produce such a food product automatically, an apparatus for supplying an amount of the filling material to a fluid material in a cup or a recess in a baking sheet is required. Then the fluid material is again applied over the filling material to encrust it.
In prior art, a filling material is provided from a hopper or extruder. To provide the same amount of a filling material, the outlet port of the hopper or extruder is controllably opened and closed. However, if the filling material is a less fluid material and/or contains solids or lumps of materials, it is difficult to quantitatively supply such a material because it often clogs an outlet port or passes through it in irregular quantities. Moreover, a material containing solids or lumps tends to produce uneven gaps in it, so that air is entrapped. The density of the material in a hopper is not uniform. Thus the amount of the material supplied from the hopper per unit time is greatly variable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,967, issued June 2, 1987, assigned to the assignee of this application, discloses an apparatus for quantitatively extruding food materials. This apparatus is especially suitable for supplying a uniform amount of food material that contains solids. In the apparatus a food material is temporarily enclosed in a chamber to form a cylindrical body, and then extruded via a nozzle into bread. The apparatus is highly advantageous in providing a uniform amount of a less fluid material, such as a material containing solids, to bread or confectionery.
However, since such a filling is supplied from a nozzle, the apparatus of the prior art is not suitable for providing a filling shaped into a solid or cohesive form and placing it at a proper position on a soft or highly fluid material for an outer layer of a sponge cake held in a cup or a recess on a baking pan. Where a filling is encrusted in a sponge cake, it should be shaped into a solid or cohesive form and should retain its shape on the fluid material because the form of the filling tends to affect the shape of the finished product. However, the material is readily deformed or broken during the operation. In the apparatus of the prior art the material is always shaped into a cylindrical form. Moreover, when it is supplied onto such a highly fluid material via a nozzle, the cylindrical form is broken and cannot remain as it is.
There has been no automated apparatus for quantitatively supplying such a filling onto a highly fluid or soft material in the prior art. Thus the process for quantitatively supplying such a filling onto a highly fluid material had to be accomplished manually.